The effects of temperature and seasonal air-mass trajectories on stable water isotopes in alpine snowpacks are investigated using meteorological and snow-pit data at two alpine field sites in the Canadian Rocky Mountains: Haig Glacier, Alberta, and Opabin Glacier, British Columbia. Snow pits were sampled through three accumulation seasons (October–June, 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07) for δ18O, δD, temperature and density. The isotopic characteristics of precipitation over these time periods, including the local meteoric waterline and average δ18O, δD and deuterium excess, were defined using this dataset. Individual snowfall events over the three seasons were identified in the accumulation records from both sites and then fit to snow-pit stratigraphies to determine their mean isotopic characteristics. A trajectory classification was produced for all events, and the key meteorological characteristics of each trajectory class were investigated using data from alpine field sites and a suite of meteorological records from the region. An analysis of the relative influences of temperature and air-mass trajectory on snow isotope ratios reveals some separation in mean δ18O between storm classes. However, the separation appears to be driven primarily by the mean temperature of each class rather then being a direct effect of vapour pathway.

Runoff estimation in high-altitude glacierized basins is an important issue on the Tibetan Plateau. To investigate glacier mass balance, runoff and water balance in the Qugaqie basin and Zhadang sub-basin in the southern Tibetan Plateau, two glacier models and three snow models were integrated into the spatially distributed hydrological model JAMS/J2K. The results showed that the temperature index method simulated glacier runoff better than the degree-day factor method. The simulated glacier melt volume in the Qugaqie basin in 2006, 2007 and 2008 contributed 58%, 50% and 41%, respectively, to its total runoff. In the Zhadang basin, the glacier melt volume contributed 78% and 66% to its runoff during 2007 and 2008, respectively. Compared with the observation results, the simulated glacier mass balance showed similar variations with slightly higher values, indicating an underestimation of glacier melt volume. The water balance simulation in the upstream areas (705–874 mm) was comparable to that in the downstream areas (1051–1502 mm) and generally lower than the observed results. In both basins, the glacier mass-balance simulation was relatively accurate in the melt season compared to the other seasons.

The northwestern sector of the Amery Ice Shelf, East Antarctica, has a layered structure, due to the presence of both meteoric ice and a marine ice layer resulting from sub-shelf freezing processes. Crystal orientation fabric and grain-size data are presented for ice cores obtained from two boreholes ˜70 km apart on approximately the same flowline. Multiple-maxima crystal orientation fabrics and large mean grain sizes in the meteoric ice are indicative of stress relaxation and subsequent grain growth in ice that has flowed into the Amery Ice Shelf. Strongly anisotropic single-maximum crystal orientation fabrics and rectangular textures near the base of the ˜200 m thick marine ice layer suggest accretion occurs by the accumulation of frazil ice platelets. Crystal orientation fabrics in older marine ice exhibit vertical large circle girdle patterns, influenced by the complex stress configurations that exist towards the margins of the ice shelf. Post-accumulation grain growth and fabric development in the marine ice layer are restricted by a high concentration of brine and insoluble particulate inclusions. Differences in the meteoric and marine ice crystallography are indicative of the contrasting rheological properties of these layers, which must be considered in relation to large-scale ice-shelf dynamics.

Surface melting on Amery Ice Shelf (AIS), East Antarctica, produces an extensive supraglacial drainage system consisting of hundreds of lakes connected by surface channels. This drainage system forms most summers on the southern portion of AIS, transporting meltwater large distances northward, toward the ice front and terminating in lakes. Here we use satellite imagery, Landsat (1, 4 and 8), MODIS multispectral and Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar to examine the seasonal and interannual evolution of the drainage system over nearly five decades (1972–2019). We estimate seasonal meltwater input to one lake by integrating output from the regional climate model [Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO 2.3p2)] over its catchment defined using the Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica. We find only weak positive relationships between modeled seasonal meltwater input and lake area and between meltwater input and lake volume. Consecutive years of extensive melting lead to year-on-year expansion of the drainage system, potentially through a link between melt production, refreezing in firn and the maximum extent of the lakes at the downstream termini of drainage. These mechanisms are important when evaluating the potential of drainage systems to grow in response to increased melting, delivering meltwater to areas of ice shelves vulnerable to hydrofracture.

Gaining knowledge of tidewater glacier (TWG) margin evolution, solid ice flux and their responses to climate over large spatio-temporal scales provides valuable context for the projection of future Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) change. Although studies of sector-wide responses of TWGs exist, studies at an ice-sheet-wide scale have only just become feasible. Here, we present a dataset of 224 annual TWG margins for 1984–2017 (n = 3801), showing that averaged over regional scales, normalised terminus change is linear. Regionally linear retreat trends were identified across most sectors of the GrIS starting in the mid-1990s, although in contrast to previous studies, the northeastern sector is shown to have experienced sustained retreat since the mid-1980s. Through cointegration analyses, individual glaciers are shown to have differing sensitivities to potential climate drivers, though on a sector-wide scale the northwest and southeast are shown to be especially sensitive to annual sea surface temperature and June–July–August air temperature, respectively. Although 92% of the analysed glaciers experience retreat across the GrIS, observed increases in absolute flux for the entire ice sheet can be explained by changes in just 11 of these TWGs.

This paper describes the development and testing of a distributed surface energy-balance model used to calculate rates of surface melting at Haut Glacier d’Arolla, Valais, Switzerland. The model uses a digital elevation model (DEM) of the glacier surface and surrounding topography together with meterological data collected at a site in front of the glacier to determine hourly or daily totals of the energy-balance components and hence of melting over the entire surface of the glacier with a spatial resolution of 20 m. The model can also be used to determine temporal and spatial variations in snow depth, snow-line position and glacier surface albedo. Calculations from the model are compared with observations made along the glacier centre line 1990, and in general the model performs very well. The correlation coefficients between calculated and measured snow-line elevation, albedo and ablation are 0.99, 0.85 and 0.81, respectively. The main source of error between modelled and measured values of these variables is probably inadequacies in the parameterization of albedo used in the model.

Triaxial tests were carried out on randomly oriented, laboratory-made, polycrystalline ice, between strain-rates of 10–7 and 10–1 s–1 and with confining pressures from 0.1 to 85 MN m–2, at –11 ± 1°C. Below strain-rates of about 10–5 s–1 the confining pressure has little effect, but at higher strain-rates the confining pressure prevents cracking which allows the compressive strength to rise to a value greater than the unconfined compressive strength. At 1.4 ×10–2 s–1, the unconfined strength of 12 MN m–2 rises to 26 MN m–2 with a confining pressure of 25 MN m–2, before dropping slowly with greater confining pressures. Above 10–2 s–1 the unconfined strength decreases rapidly with increasing strain-rate, but the confined strength continues to increase. The dependence of strain rate on the maximum compressive stress is discussed.

Recognising the scarcity of glacier mass-balance data in the Southern Hemisphere, a mass-balance measurement programme was started at Brewster Glacier in the Southern Alps of New Zealand in 2004. Evolution of the measurement regime over the 11 years of data recorded means there are differences in the spatial density of data obtained. To ensure the temporal integrity of the dataset a new geostatistical approach is developed to calculate mass balance. Spatial co-variance between elevation and snow depth allows a digital elevation model to be used in a co-kriging approach to develop a snow depth index (SDI). By capturing the observed spatial variability in snow depth, the SDI is a more reliable predictor than elevation and is used to adjust each year of measurements consistently despite variability in sampling spatial density. The SDI also resolves the spatial structure of summer balance better than elevation. Co-kriging is used again to spatially interpolate a derived mean summer balance index using SDI as a co-variate, which yields a spatial predictor for summer balance. The average glacier-wide surface winter, summer and annual balances over the period 2005–15 are 2484, −2586 and −102 mm w.e., respectively, with changes in summer balance explaining most of the variability in annual balance.

Glaciers in Greenland are changing rapidly. To better understand these changes, we have produced a series of seven synthetic aperture radar (SAR) backscatter mosaics for seven winters during the period from 2000 to 2013. Six of the mosaics were created using RADARSAT Fine-Beam data and the seventh used ALOS-PALSAR Fine-Beam Single-Polarization data. The RADARSAT mosaics are radiometrically calibrated and capture changes in the backscatter coefficient related to melt and other events, particularly the strong melting in the summer of 2012. Comparison of features in the ascending-orbit ALOS mosaic and the descending-orbit RADARSAT mosaics indicate that in areas of smooth to moderate topography their locations are consistent to within a few tens of meters. The locations of features identifiable in the RADARSAT mosaics, which were collected with the same imaging parameters, generally agree to within better than the 20 m posting of the data. With such geometric accuracy, these data establish a record of change in Greenland for the early part of the 21st century, thus providing a baseline that can be compared with new radar and optical datasets.

Projected climate warming and wettening will have a major impact on the state of glaciers and seasonal snow in High Arctic regions. Following up on a historical simulation (1957–2018) for Svalbard, we make future projections of glacier climatic mass balance (CMB), snow conditions on glaciers and land, and runoff, under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 emission scenarios for 2019–60. We find that the average CMB for Svalbard glaciers, which was weakly positive during 1957–2018, becomes negative at an accelerating rate during 2019–60 for both RCP scenarios. Modelled mass loss is most pronounced in southern Svalbard, where the equilibrium line altitude is predicted to rise well above the hypsometry peak, leading to the first occurrences of zero accumulation-area ratio already by the 2030s. In parallel with firn line retreat, the total pore volume in snow and firn drops by as much as 70–80% in 2060, compared to 2018. Total refreezing remains largely unchanged, despite a marked change in the seasonal pattern towards increased refreezing in winter. Finally, we find pronounced shortening of the snow season, while combined runoff from glaciers and land more than doubles from 1957–2018 to 2019–60, for both scenarios.

We report measurements using a portable real aperture radar (Gamma Portable Radar Interferometer (GPRI)) for interferometric imaging of the surface ice motion on Gornergletscher, Switzerland, during the drainage of the adjacent ice-marginal lake Gornersee. The GPRI tracked the surface ice motion in line of sight over an area of ∼3 km2 down-glacier of Gornersee almost continuously during the drainage event. The displacement maps derived from the acquired interferograms capture the spatial distribution of the surface ice motion. Due to fast acquisition times of the microwave images, the GPRI was able to record sub-daily variations of the ice displacements, most likely caused by the impact of the Gornersee drainage on the ice motion of Gornergletscher. In situ point measurements of the ice displacement agree reasonably well with the results obtained by the GPRI and highlight the use of the GPRI for high-resolution measurements of glacier surface ice motion.

The loss of the floating ice tongue on Jakobshavn Isbrӕ, Greenland, in the early 2000s has been concurrent with a pattern of thinning, retreat and acceleration leading to enhanced contribution to global sea level. These changes on decadal timescales have been well documented. Here we identify how the glacier responds to forcings on shorter timescales, such as from variations in surface melt, the drainage of supraglacial lakes and seasonal fluctuations in terminus position. Ice motion and surface melt were monitored intermittently from 2006 to 2008. Dual-frequency GPS were deployed 20–50 km upstream of the terminus along the glacier center line. Gaps in surface melt measurements were filled using a temperature-index model of ablation driven by surface air temperatures recorded during the same time period. Our results corroborate the premise that the primary factors controlling speeds on Jakobshavn Isbrӕ are terminus position and geometry. We also observe that surface speeds demonstrate a complex relationship with meltwater input: on diurnal timescales, velocities closely match changes in water input; however, on seasonal timescales a longer, more intense melt season was observed to effectively reduce the overall ice flow of the glacier for the whole year

Debris-laden ice accretes to the base of Matanuska Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., from water that supercools while flowing in a distributed drainage system tip the adverse slope of an overdeepening. Frazil ice grows in the water column and forms aggregates, while other ice grows on the glacier sole or on substrate materials. Sediment is trapped by this growing ice, forming stratified debris-laden basal ice. Growth rates of >0.l ma−1 of debris-rich basal ice are possible. The large sediment fluxes that this mechanism allows may have implications for interpretation of the widespread deposits from ice that flowed through other overdeepenings, including Heinrich events and the till sheets south of the Laurentian Great Lakes.

Glacier change has been recognized as an important climate variable due to its sensitive response to climate change. Although there are a large number of glaciers distributed over the southeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, the region is poorly represented in glacier databases due to seasonal snow cover and frequent cloud cover. Here, we present an improved glacier inventory for this region by combining Landsat observations acquired over 2011–13 (Landsat 8/OLI and Landsat TM/ETM+), coherence images from Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar images and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM. We present a semi-automated scheme for integrating observations from multi-temporal Landsat scenes to mitigate cloud obscuration. Further, the clean-ice observations, together with coherence information, slope constraints, vegetation cover and water classification information extracted from the Landsat scenes, are integrated to determine the debris-covered glacier area. After manual editing, we derive a new glacier inventory containing 6892 glaciers >0.02 km2, covering a total area of 6566 ± 197 km2. This new glacier inventory indicates gross overestimation in glacier area (over 30%) in previously published glacier inventories, and reveals various spatial characteristics of glaciers in the region. Our inventory can be used as a baseline dataset for future studies including glacier change assessment.

Chemical models for the evolution of bulk melt waters can be constructed by assuming that rock mineral weathering and solute acquisition are controlled by carbonate equilibria. Different open- and closed- system models are defined by variations in the rates of weathering relative to the rate of hydrogen-ion supply by the dissolution and dissociation of CO2, and can be recognized by characteristic pH and ∑+ relationships. The observed and inferred compositions of englacial and subglacial melt suggest that mixing is unlikely to be conservative and that closed-system conditions result where post-mixing weathering reactions occur. The final composition of bulk melt waters is determined by the mixing ratio between englacial and subglacial melt, the extent of post-mixing evolution, and opportunity for mixing with ground waters or re-equilibration with the atmosphere.

Observational data allowing the validation of jökulhlaup models are sparse. We were able to inject dye tracer directly into the drainage channel of a glacial lake during the onset of its outburst. This made it possible to test an established jökulhlaup model, not only against discharge measurements, but for the first time also against water flow speeds inferred from measurements. We drive the jökulhlaup model, based on the Spring–Hutter equations, with measured subglacial water pressure, lake water temperature and lake level. The model is fitted to the measured lake discharge and inferred flow speeds using the initial channel size, the channel roughness and sinuosity. Our calculations show that an ingenuous application of the model, fitting it to the lake discharge only, overestimates water flow speeds. For the second day of the outburst, this can be remedied by fitting the model to the inferred flow speeds as well, requiring that either the heat transfer or the sinuosity of the channel be increased. However, the low inferred flow speeds on the first day of the outburst cannot be fitted with any parameter combination, showing that, initially, the water does not flow through an R channel. Hence, the early stages of this jökulhlaup cannot be simulated by an R-channel model.

Two diagnostic, dynamic/thermodynamic ice-shelf models are applied to the Brunt Ice Shelf/Stancomb-Wills Ice Tongue system, located off Caird Coast, Coats Land, Antarctica. The Brunt Ice Shelf/Stancomb-Wills Ice Tongue system is characterized as a thin, unbounded ice shelf with an atypical and highly heterogeneous structure. In contrast to other ice shelves, a composite mass of icebergs that calved at the grounding line and were then locked within fast (sea) ice exists between the fast-moving Stancomb-Wills Ice Stream and the slow-moving Brunt Ice Shelf. We simulate the present flow regime of the ice shelf that results from the ice-thickness distribution and the inflow at the grounding line with two different models, and compare the model results with feature tracking and InSAR flow velocities. We then incorporate two observed features, a rift and a shear margin, into the models with two different approaches, and demonstrate the effects of variations in numerical values for the shear strength and viscosity in these zones on the simulated velocity field. A major result is that both kinds of implementation of the rifts lead to similar effects on the entire velocity field, while there are discrepancies in the vicinity of the rifts.

We investigate the appropriateness of calving or crevasse models from the literature using linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM). To this end, we compare LEFM model-predicted stress intensity factors (SIFs) against numerically computed SIFs using the displacement correlation method in conjunction with the finite element method. We present several benchmark simulations wherein we calculate the SIF at the tips of water-filled surface and basal crevasses penetrating through rectangular ice slabs under different boundary conditions, including grounded and floating conditions. Our simulation results indicate that the basal boundary condition significantly influences the SIF at the crevasse tips. We find that the existing calving models using LEFM are not generally accurate for evaluating SIFs in grounded glaciers or floating ice shelves. We also illustrate that using the ‘single edge crack’ weight function in the LEFM formulations may be appropriate for predicting calving from floating ice shelves, owing to the low fracture toughness of ice; whereas, using the ‘double edge crack’ or ‘central through crack’ weight functions is more appropriate for predicting calving from grounded glaciers. To conclude, we recommend using the displacement correlation method for SIF evaluation in real glaciers and ice shelves with complex geometries and boundary conditions.

It is of practical importance to have a description on time-scales of 1–100 years of the relationship between the mass imbalance of an ice sheet and its rate of change of thickness. In this paper, a linearized treatment of the relationship is described. Closed-form expressions are derived that relate the time-variant density in an isothermal firn layer to the fluctuations in accumulation rate and density that occur at the surface. These expressions are used to provide a spectral description of the contribution of surface accumulation and surface density fluctuations to the rate of change of thickness of an ice sheet. Using these, the contribution of firn densification to the variability of ice-sheet thickness is examined as a function of the time interval over which the ice sheet is observed. This contribution is illustrated for sites in Antarctica and Greenland. It is concluded that it is important to give greater attention than hitherto to the spatial scale of accumulation fluctuations if satellite observations of ice-sheet elevation change are to be used to estimate ice-sheet imbalance over short time intervals.